The present invention relates generally to audio mixers capable of test-listening (or sound check) to an audio signal of an input channel or output channel.
The conventionally-known digital audio mixers include a plurality of channel strips provided on an operation panel, so that a human operator can use fader controls of the channel strips to control sound volume levels of audio signals of input or output channels allocated to the channel strips.
Among such conventionally-known digital audio mixers is one which has a CUE function for test-listening to an audio signal of a desired input channel or output channel. The CUE function is activated by a human operator turning on a CUE switch of any one of the channel strips. Such a digital audio mixer is constructed in such a manner that, in response to the human operator's operation of the CUE switch, an audio signal of a channel, allocated to that channel strip, is supplied to a CUE bus so that the supplied audio signal can be output, via an operator monitor output, as a CUE signal of a different route from main output signals. An example of such a digital audio mixer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2005-252328. Because the CUE signal is of a separate route from main output signals, the main output signals of the mixer remain unaffected or uninfluenced by the CUE function. Note that the term “CUE” is used herein to refer to cue “test-listening”.
In the digital mixer, the human operator often performs, before supplying an audio signal of a given channel to a main output (i.e., before increasing a sound volume level of the given channel), a series of operations of confirming the audio signal of the given channel by test-listening to the audio signal through the CUE function with the sound volume level adjusted to zero (i.e., with a corresponding fader control maintained at its lower end position) and then increase the sound volume level of the given channel by moving or operating upwardly of the fader control. During such operations, it is necessary for the human operator to perform operation of two different controls, i.e. operation of the CUE switch of the given channel and sliding operation of the corresponding fader control, and thus, much time and labor required for these cumbersome operation would undesirably lower an overall level manipulating efficiency of the digital audio mixer.